The new year is officially here, and you’ve probably come up with a New Year’s resolution or two. If one of yours is to become more financially stable and improve your less-than-stellar credit, we’re here to help. Check out these five credit cards that can help you get a fresh start in 2017.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to manage the card responsibly, keeping your balance low and trying to pay it in full each month if you want to improve your credit. Doing so will also help you avoid racking up interest charges. Some of these cards carry relatively higher interest rates than cards aimed at people with higher credit scores, so carrying a balance can really add up after a few months.

And, as with any credit card, it’s a good idea to check your credit scores before applying so you know where you stand. You can get your two free credit scores, updated every 14 days, on Credit.com.

1. U.S. Bank Secured Visa Card

Why We Chose It: The majority of secured credit cards require cardholders to place a deposit on their account when their application is approved. This deposit will act as their credit limit. A lot of cards set a maximum limit of $2,000 or $3,000, depending on the card, but the U.S. Bank Secured Visa card has a maximum $5,000 credit limit if you can afford the matching deposit.

After you have been a cardholder for 12 months, U.S. Bank will assess your account to see what kind of borrower you’ve been. If you’ve been making payments on time and your spending has been kept under control, you could be moved into an unsecured card.

Why We Chose It: The Credit One Bank Unsecured Visa Card is one of the very few unsecured cards available to almost anyone with poor credit (keep in mind you can still be turned down for a credit card, even a secured one, if you have an active bankruptcy on your credit report). You will not be required to come up with a deposit to use this card. Plus, cardholders will have the ability to earn rewards on purchases. Each time you use the card at gas stations and grocery stores, you will receive 1% cash back.

You can get pre-qualified for this card in less than one minute. This will help by letting you know if you will be approved and potentially save you the hard inquiry on your credit report. Credit One Bank will report to all three credit bureaus. Because a lot of financial institutions use a combination of your three scores, this can be an important part of rebuilding your credit.

APR: Variable 15.65% to 24.15%

Annual Fee: Up to $75 for the first year, and up to $99 each subsequent year

Why We Chose It: The Capital One Secured MasterCard is a little different than other secured cards. Instead of matching the credit limit with the deposit placed on the account, you can receive a $200 limit with a deposit of $49, $99 or $200. Plus, if you prove to be a good borrower, Capital One can decide to increase your credit limit without requiring any additional deposit.

Indigo® Mastercard® for Less than Perfect Credit

Less than perfect credit histories can qualify, even with prior bankruptcy!

Choose your custom card design - Free

Quick pre-qualification available with no impact to your credit score

Fast and easy decision on your application

Access your account online or from your mobile device 24/7

Protection from fraud, if your card happens to be lost or stolen

Accepted worldwide at most locations

Card Details +

Why We Chose It: Like the Credit One card, the Indigo Platinum MasterCard offers pre-qualification, meaning you don’t have to ding your credit score only to be denied. You won’t find many perks with this card, though, other than the ability to improve your credit over time, but that is your main goal.

No Annual Fee, cash back on every purchase, and helps you build your credit with responsible use.

Your Secured Credit Card requires a refundable security deposit up to the amount we can approve of at least $200 which will establish your credit line. You will need to provide your bank information when submitting your security deposit.

We will automatically begin reviewing your account starting at 8 months to see if we can transition you to an unsecured line of credit.

Earn 2% cash back at restaurants & gas stations on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. Plus, 1% cash back on all your other purchases.

Get a dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically.

Receive FREE Social Security number alerts-Discover will monitor thousands of risky websites when you sign up.

Card Details +

Why We Chose It: The Discover it Secured card offers great rewards for a secured credit card. You will receive 2% cash back on up to $1,000 per quarter in combined purchases at restaurants and gas stations, and 1% on all other purchases. In addition, Discover will match the cash back you earn for the first 12 months.

Like most other secured cards, the Discover it Secured card will require at least a $200 deposit. This will act as your credit limit. After seven months, however, your account will go through monthly reviews to see if you qualify to be moved into an unsecured card and receive your deposit back.

APR: Variable 23.49%

Annual Fee: None

At publishing time, the Credit One Unsecured Visa Card, Capital One Secured MasterCard, Indigo Platinum MasterCard and Discover it Secured Card are offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com is compensated if our users apply and ultimately sign up for these cards. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment. This content is not provided by the card issuer(s). Any opinions expressed are those of Credit.com alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer(s).

Note: It’s important to remember that interest rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products frequently change. As a result, rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products cited in these articles may have changed since the date of publication. Please be sure to verify current rates, fees and terms with credit card issuers, banks or other financial institutions directly.

Image: phototechno

Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Sign up for our Credit Report Card and receive the latest tips & advice from our team of 50+ credit and money experts as well as a FREE Credit Score and action plan. Sign up now.

Sean Bryant is a Denver-based freelance writer specializing in travel, credit cards and personal finance. With nearly 10 years of writing experience, his work has appeared in many of the industries' top publications. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Comments on articles and responses to those comments are not provided or commissioned by a bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by a bank advertiser. It is not a bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Please note that our comments are moderated, so it may take a little time before you see them on the page. Thanks for your patience.

Certain credit cards and other financial products mentioned in this and other sponsored content on Credit.com are Partners with Credit.com. Credit.com receives compensation if our users apply for and ultimately sign up for any financial products or cards offered.

Hello, Reader!

Thanks for checking out Credit.com. We hope you find the site and the journalism we produce useful. We wanted to take some time to tell you a bit about ourselves.

Our People

The Credit.com editorial team is staffed by a team of editors and reporters, each with many years of financial reporting experience. We’ve worked for places like the New York Times, American Banker, Frontline, TheStreet.com, Business Insider, ABC News, NBC News, CNBC and many others. We also employ a few freelancers and more than 50 contributors (these are typically subject matter experts from the worlds of finance, academia, politics, business and elsewhere).

Our Reporting

We take great pains to ensure that the articles, video and graphics you see on Credit.com are thoroughly reported and fact-checked. Each story is read by two separate editors, and we adhere to the highest editorial standards. We’re not perfect, however, and if you see something that you think is wrong, please email us at editorial team [at] credit [dot] com,

The Credit.com editorial team is committed to providing our readers and viewers with sound, well-reported and understandable information designed to inform and empower. We won’t tell you what to do. We will, however, do our best to explain the consequences of various actions, thereby arming you with the information you need to make decisions that are in your best interests. We also write about things relating to money and finance we think are interesting and want to share.

In addition to appearing on Credit.com, our articles are syndicated to dozens of other news sites. We have more than 100 partners, including MSN, ABC News, CBS News, Yahoo, Marketwatch, Scripps, Money Magazine and many others. This network operates similarly to the Associated Press or Reuters, except we focus almost exclusively on issues relating to personal finance. These are not advertorial or paid placements, rather we provide these articles to our partners in most cases for free. These relationships create more awareness of Credit.com in general and they result in more traffic to us as well.

Our Business Model

Credit.com’s journalism is largely supported by an e-commerce business model. Rather than rely on revenue from display ad impressions, Credit.com maintains a financial marketplace separate from its editorial pages. When someone navigates to those pages, and applies for a credit card, for example, Credit.com will get paid what is essentially a finder’s fee if that person ends up getting the card. That doesn’t mean, however, that our editorial decisions are informed by the products available in our marketplace. The editorial team chooses what to write about and how to write about it independently of the decisions and priorities of the business side of the company. In fact, we maintain a strict and important firewall between the editorial and business departments. Our mission as journalists is to serve the reader, not the advertiser. In that sense, we are no different from any other news organization that is supported by ad revenue.

Visitors to Credit.com are also able to register for a free Credit.com account, which gives them access to a tool called The Credit Report Card. This tool provides users with two free credit scores and a breakdown of the information in their Experian credit report, updated twice monthly. Again, this tool is entirely free, and we mention that frequently in our articles, because we think that it’s a good thing for users to have access to data like this. Separate from its educational value, there is also a business angle to the Credit Report Card. Registered users can be matched with products and services for which they are most likely to qualify. In other words, if you register and you find that your credit is less than stellar, Credit.com won’t recommend a high-end platinum credit card that requires an excellent credit score You’d likely get rejected, and that’s no good for you or Credit.com. You’d be no closer to getting a product you need, there’d be a wasted inquiry on your credit report, and Credit.com wouldn’t get paid. These are essentially what are commonly referred to as "targeted ads" in the world of the Internet. Despite all of this, however, even if you never apply for any product, the Credit Report Card will remain free, and none of this will impact how the editorial team reports on credit and credit scores.

Your Stories

Lastly, much of what we do is informed by our own experiences as well as the experiences of our readers. We want to tell your stories if you’re interested in sharing them. Please email us at story ideas [at] credit [dot] com with ideas or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.